TEGNA has a new leader. The broadcasting company has appointed Patrick Paolini as its Chief Executive Officer, effective June 1, putting a 30-year broadcast veteran at the helm.
What We Know: Paolini arrives from FOX Television Stations, where he served as Executive Vice President of Advertising Sales since 2023. Before that, he led WTTG and WDCA in Washington, D.C., driving that duopoly to the market’s top spot. The hire comes as TEGNA navigates significant legal turbulence. A federal judge recently issued a temporary injunction blocking its pending $6.2 billion merger with Nexstar Media Group. Thus preventing Nexstar from operating TEGNA’s stations while litigation continues. Mike Steib, who became CEO of Tegna in 2024, stepped down after the announcement of the merger’s close in March. He has remained with the company in a non-CEO role but will officially step away this Friday.
What They Said: TEGNA’s Board of Directors offered a collective statement: “Patrick is an ideal choice to lead TEGNA. He brings deep expertise in the broadcast television industry, major-market station management, and high-quality local news, along with a proven track record of driving revenue growth across linear and digital platforms. He is an innovative thinker and a proven leader with an established history of success. We look forward to Patrick’s leadership of this great company.”
Patrick Paolini on accepting the role with TEGNA: “I am honored to be joining TEGNA. I have tremendous respect for the TEGNA brand, for the outstanding local news delivered across its 64 local television stations and hundreds of digital platforms, and for the company’s dedicated employees and local journalists.”
What Remains Unclear: The Nexstar merger situation looms large over this hire. Courts have blocked the deal, and bipartisan Senate scrutiny of the FCC’s approval adds further uncertainty. It’s also unclear how Paolini’s revenue-first background fits into that unresolved picture.
What It Means: TEGNA is signaling stability despite being in an unstable position with its intentions to merge with Nexstar. Bringing in a proven sales and operations leader suggests the company intends to move forward — with or without the Nexstar deal resolved. Furthermore, Paolini’s major-market track record positions TEGNA to compete aggressively on both linear and digital platforms.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
